De La Rue currency and security printing factory along Thika Road. [Photo|star.co.ke]
Central Bank of Kenya has suffered a major blow after its award of the currency printing tender to a British firm was nullified.
According to the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board, De La Rue currency and security printing firm was denied the currency printing tender due to the wrongful application of the law.
The new currency is expected to be printed without images of individuals. According to the 2010 Constitution, the Kenyan currency which has the portrait of founding President Jomo Kenyatta is to be replaced with another portray but not anyone’s image.
On Monday, the chairman of Public Procurement Administrative Review Board, Paul Gicheru said, "A declaration be and is hereby issued that De La Rue International Ltd was unlawfully awarded the tender for printing and supply of new currency and that the application of 15 percent preference margin in its favour was unlawful and the award is therefore annulled."
It was therefore directed that a fresh evaluation should be conducted for 14 days for all the tenders submitted by the four bidders who participated in the process. The four bidders were then requested to follow the law if the decision reached after the fresh evaluation would not satisfy them.
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